Hi, I'm Otto de Vries, the CEO of the Association of Southern African Travel Agents (ASATA). Travel is more than just a job to me, it's a passion - meeting other travel professionals both locally and internationally to promote and improve the Southern African travel industry at every level.

Promoting your professionalism: How to set up an awesome LinkedIn Profile

Here are five tips to create the best looking LinkedIn profile on the web.

1. Make Your Personal Brand Stand Out

You want to use the profile to make your own personal brand stand out. This instantly catches the eye of viewers and will make them want to learn much more about you. Your current employment is going to do this for you. If you are employed by a company, you have little control over your title, but if you are your own boss, think of something that will stand out and tell people exactly what you do.

Move down a little further to the summary. This is another place to create your personal brand. Sell yourself and what you do. What are your skills and why are you so good at your job? This is the only part of your whole profile where you get to design and layout everything. You’ll be stuck with following LinkedIn’s preferences later, so use this space to put your own personality into the content.

2. Make Your Profile Searchable

You need to make sure the content and URL of your profile are searchable by search engines. This is done through keywords. Make sure your URL is your name, so when employers and clients go looking for you, they will find you. Likewise, if you have any keywords, add them into your summary and job title. You will soon find more people come across you and want to know more about you.

3. Highlight The Experience You Have

Whether you’re in a job or are hunting, you need to highlight the experience that you have. LinkedIn is very much like your resume and it needs to show off your skills, qualities and knowledge. However, the benefit of LinkedIn is the searchable aspect and you can play to that benefit. Don’t just leave it to chance that someone will find you. Use keywords in your content to make your job descriptions and work experience stand out.

You can add your samples and work presentations. This is a great way to really show off what you can do and will make your profile stand out from the rest. Slideshare is another option that can be added to your LinkedIn profile. Use it to your advantage. Don’t have anything to show off? Of course you do—just think about the stuff other people ask you for help with!

4. Get Recommendations On Your Page

If someone recommends a product to you, you’re much more likely to buy it. If someone recommends a service, would you be more swayed towards using it over another? Of course you would, and the same works for employment and looking for freelancers. You need recommendations on your page if you want to stand a chance of getting hired.

Talk to previous clients or employers who are on LinkedIn. You just need to politely ask that they write a recommendation on your page. Get them to tell others why you should be hired. One great way to get recommendations is by recommending others first. You’d be surprised how many people will feel compelled to reciprocate the favor.

5. Stay Active, Interactive And Up To Date

Activity is essential on LinkedIn. You need to make sure your profile is constantly up to date. Make sure the title is the best one for you and keep your skill sets showing the best ones right now. You want to interact through the website, too. The more you interact, the more people are going to see your amazing profile. This will also help people realize that you are a person and good for the job.

Set your own group up and get active. This will allow you to set it up for your specific interest and help run it in the way that you see fit. It will also show up on your profile, so others know that you run a LinkedIn group and that you have the ability to manage.

Get that LinkedIn profile up to date and start making it stand out. Personality and flair will really help turn your profile from a boring resume into a stunning piece of work. Improve your SEO and update your skill sets and you will be ready the next time an employer comes knocking.